The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method of manufacturing denim or blue jean clothing, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for producing blue jean pants with a worn appearance using laser technology.
There has long been a demand for blue jean or denim pants that have a worn appearance. It is known to use stone washing techniques to produce pants with a faded coloring. Not only is stone washing a relatively time consuming process, it creates a substantially uniformly lightened or faded appearance which is not typical of blue jeans after prolonged wear.
While it has been proposed to use lasers to etch or burn worn and faded areas on jean pants that more closely approximate actual wear, such technique does not lend itself to efficient or economical commercial manufacture. Unlike stone washing in which the entire garment is simultaneously processed, the laser beam must be directed to specific front and backside areas of the pant which can necessitate cumbersome handling of the garment. Slight wrinkling or folds in the denim material also will impede the laser treatment, resulting in unsightly and unnatural streaking in the laser treated areas. This problem is compounded by irregular contours in the legs and excess material in the buttock area of the pants which can make it difficult to hold the pants in a flat or taut condition during the laser treatment. Without extreme care and special handling, it also is difficult to uniformly impart preprogrammed laser treatment to the pants in a continuous manufacturing operation. The numerous different styles and sizes of jeans that must be manufactured also make it difficult to uniformly apply preprogrammed laser imparted wear pattern areas to the pants.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for efficiently handling and reliably etching wear or other pattern areas into denim pants using lasers.
Another object is to provide an apparatus and method as characterized above which presents denim pants to a laser station in taut predetermined relation to the laser device for repeatable accurate laser etching.
A further object is to provide a method and apparatus of the foregoing type which accommodates different styles and sizes of denim pants.
Yet another object is to provide an apparatus and method of the above kind that are adapted to uniformly impart preprogrammed laser treatment to pants in a continuous manufacturing process.
Still a further object is to provide such an apparatus and method of the above kind which precisely present and orient denim pants in a plurality of positions at the laser station to enable automatic laser treatment to a multiplicity of areas on both the front and rear sides of the garment.
Another object is to provide an apparatus of the foregoing type that can be safely operated on a continuous basis by a single operator.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which: